Office of Postsecondary Readiness

College and Career Planning Team

The Office of Postsecondary Readiness (OPSR) focuses on the alignment of school curriculum, instruction and operations to ensure that all students graduate college and career ready. OPSR provides leadership and implementation support for the DOE’s college and career articulation initiatives and Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. As part of the Division of Teaching and Learning (DT&L), OPSR develops and implements strategy and policy for increasing capacity across DOE schools in ways that will significantly increase the number of students who graduate college and career ready and persist through their postsecondary choices. As part of this work, the NYCDOE has led the development of training, tools and guidelines for college and career planning in high schools.

As cited in New York City’s Equity and Excellence Initiative, the City is committed to strengthening college access for all students to ensure that all students graduate with a postsecondary plan and resources to enact that plan. The College and Career Planning team works cross-divisionally to develop and improve policies, programs and resources toward the goal of doubling the number of students graduating New York City schools ready for college and career pathways.

College and Career Readiness domains are the areas students need to develop in order to graduate high school college and career ready. To learn more about these domains, review the College and Career Readiness Toolkit. This toolkit was developed to support school efforts to building strong college and career going cultures to help inform whole school decision making, and to support staff with clear, common goals that will support students on their journeys post-high school.

The design of College and Career Planning team’s work team’s work builds on and scales successful strategies that have been developed over the last several years:

Capacity Building Through Professional Development

Options Institute- Six-day training steeps school staff in the basics of application planning and financial aid, as well as a full day on working with immigrant students through the college process.

Chancellor’s PD days-Three times a year OPSR provides professional development opportunities for school staff who lead college and career planning at their schools. These professional development opportunities allow staff to obtain the content knowledge and resources needed to better support students and families.

Professional Development Scholarships- OPSR provides scholarships to cover the cost of high quality professional development opportunities— needed to better support our students and their families.

Publications & OPSR College and Career Planning Newsletter

Culture Building Initiatives/

College and Career Planning Calendar

College Application Week-is a statewide effort to raise awareness about the importance of college planning and to support schools in helping low-income, first-generation college bound students apply.

Career Awareness Month- A month long focus on career trends and pathways to help students make informed career and educational decisions.

P/SAT School Day- Sophomore students will take the PSAT and Juniors will take the SAT to increase college readiness and college access.

College Decision Day- Celebrates seniors for their postsecondary plans and promotes early postsecondary planning for underclassmen.

Data Tools and Research & Development

FAFSA Completion Data-Clickherefor instructions on how to register for the portal.

SUNY Transcript Data

Use of college persistence data

CUNY Application Fee Waivers

College Access for All

(CA4A)

Inquiry Institute for School Teams

Coaching through Improvement Science

Pre-remediation courses

Summer melt programs

Data tools

Resources for Professional Development and Content Knowledge

OPSR College and career Planning Newsletter- provides monthly cutting-edge college and career resources and updates for school-based staff to better prepare students for life beyond graduation.

College Planning Handbook-This guide provides key information to help students with applying to colleges, obtaining financial aid, and making the transition from high school to college.

FAFSA Guide-This guide is designed to help students and families navigate the U.S. Department of Education’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in their quest to get financial aid for college. The guide is especially targeted for students who are among the first in their family to go to college, or are new to the country.

Parent Guide-This parent's guide, developed by a team of parents, includes practical advice and strategies for navigating college and career choices after high school. This resource includes suggestions and tools to strengthen parental involvement and help prepare them to make informed decisions relating to the full range of college and career opportunities available for students after graduation.

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Click here for instructions on how to designate a College and Career Point in GALAXY, to receive OPSR news and resources.